Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter V’ May Get A Surprise Release, So We Officially Have A Trend

By my count, 2013 saw three albums released with absolutely no promotion or warning: My Bloody Valentine‘s mbv, Death Grips‘ Government Plates and Beyonce‘s self-titled LP. Queen B proved a major star could opt out of the promo cycle and still dominate commercially, opening the floodgates for other big names to follow suit. Nicki Minaj just said she’s going to do an unannounced release for The Pink Print, and now Lil Wayne‘s label insinuates he might do the same for Tha Carter V.

“I can’t release the date because [Lil Wayne] wants to surprise people,” Cash Money Records’ Vice President of Promotion Mel Smith said in a recent interview. “He wants his true fan base to get excited but he’s worked extremely hard on it and you won’t be disappointed.” Because of the wording, it’s tough to tell if Smith meant the release itself will be a surprise, or if he meant Wayne wants to surprise people by announcing the release date himself. (By the way, this is the same guy who, back in October, promised new Weezy music was “coming soon.”)

Regardless, with this tidbit and Nicki’s news, it looks like YMCMB may be embracing the post-Bey album roll-out and the surprise album drop is about to become a regular thing. Expect a New York Times trend piece in about a year.

[via Hot New Hip Hop]

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